Chechen warlord Ramzan Kadyrov is ‘trolling’ the West with news of his ‘death’

Ramzan Kadyrov is a Kremlin loyalist who has been nicknamed ‘Putin’s attack dog’ (Picture: east2west)

Chechen warlord Ramzan Kadyrov is ‘trolling’ the West with trips to Moscow and ‘milking’ reports of his death, a security analyst has warned.

Rumours about the condition of Vladimir Putin’s puppet gained momentum over the weekend after Ukraine’s military intelligence spokesperson Andriy Yusov said he had been sick ‘for a long time’ with ‘systemic health problems’.

There was no evidence to back the claims, but Telegram channels quickly ignited with speculation that he is in a coma after being poisoned, or even dead after a morning run.

Harold Chambers, a researcher on the North Caucasus, has been working to track Kadyrov’s jet making trips between the Chechen capital Grozny and Moscow on September 6, 9, 15 and today.

Russia’s capital is where the leader of the small war-torn Russian region would be hospitalised for his ‘worsening’ health.

Mr Chambers told Metro he has a ‘hunch’ that Kadyrov is flying back and forth to ‘troll’ people.

‘If Kadyrov is alive and conscious, he is loving all of this. He is flying back and forth just to troll people. He would absolutely do it,’ he said.

‘There is no doubt in my mind, he would get the largest kick out of it. So much of Kadyrov’s motivation is to troll Western media.

Kadyrov has been ruling Chechnya with an iron fist for years (Picture: east2west)

‘He loves doing this, he loves building up as much attention and focus on him as possible. Then he goes out and settles everything.

‘In the past, he has clearly milked these situations because, why not play it up. All press is good press.’

His comments come hours after Kadyrov issued an apparent response to rumours of his death.

Footage shared on the Telegram channel of the Chechen war criminal showed him smiling and talking to the camera in a park.

Putin and Kadyrov at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow in 2019 (Picture: Shutterstock)

‘I strongly recommend everyone who cannot tell truth from lies on the internet to go for a walk in the fresh air, set your mind straight,’ the caption reads.

It is unclear where and when the video was recorded, but Mr Chambers said it has been geolocated to his palace in Grozny and that the weather matches Sunday’s conditions there.

Additionally, the path Kadyrov is spotted on is believed to be the one surrounding his mansion.

The analyst added: ‘I am not very certain of this hunch right now and I am waiting to see if Kadyrov is going to post another video because I think he might.’

Various versions about his medical state have been circulating online, and some have claimed this is archival footage.

But this would also not be the first time that he has ridiculed those speculating about his ill health.

Last year, Kadyrov complained of his enemies spreading lies about a device on his finger that resembled a pulse oximeter, which he said was ‘a digital Muslim prayer counter’.

‘Sorry to let down those hoping I am incurably ill,’ he said, brandishing the device.

The Kremlin stressed today that it had no information on the health of the leader.

‘We have no information on this,’ spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters. ‘In any case, the presidential administration can hardly give out health certificates, so we have nothing to tell you here.’

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